Moto E5, Moto G6 Announced: Specs, Price & Availability Revealed

Motorola has announced the new 2018 models of its Moto E and Moto G series of Android phones. The company introduced a total of four new phones today: the Moto E5 Play, Moto E5 Plus, Moto G6 and Moto G6 Play.

The Moto E5 Play and E5 Plus

The Moto E5 Play is only available in black.Photo: MotorolaThe Moto E5 Play and E5 Plus mostly share the same design elements, but they do have some differences. The E5 Play comes with a 5.2-inch 720p HD display and is powered by the Snapdragon 427 chipset. Out of the four newly announced phones, the E5 Play is the only one to have a 16:9 aspect ratio display, while the rest have the taller 18:9 aspect ratio. The Moto E5 Play also comes with an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and microSD card slot.

The Moto E5 Plus will be available in fine gold and flash gray.Photo: Motorola

Meanwhile, the Moto E5 Plus is the superior model between the two. The handset comes with a 6-inch “Max Vision” 18:9 aspect ratio display with a screen resolution of 1,440 x 720. The handset is powered by the Snapdragon 435 processor with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Like the E5 Play, the E5 Plus only comes with a single camera on its back, but it’s equipped with a 12-megapixel sensor. The E5 Plus is also packing a massive 5,000mAh battery

Motorola didn’t share pricing for the Moto E5 Play and E5 Plus, because their prices will depend on U.S. carriers. The Verge speculates that the new Moto E phones will start at around $100, but there’s a possibility that the E5 Plus might start at the $200 range.

The Moto G6 and Moto G6 Play

The Moto G6 with the oyster blush finish.Photo: Motorola

The 2018 Moto G handsets feature 18:9 aspect ratio displays with curved edges and thin bezels. The regular Moto G6 seems to be the superior model between the two and it features a Gorilla Glass back. As for specs, the G6 is probably the most powerful out of the four new Motorola phones. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 450 processor with 3GB/4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB of storage. The G6 also comes with a 5.7-inch display with a screen resolution just above 1080p.

One thing that stands out with the Moto G6 is that it’s the only model in this new lineup that features a USB Type-C port and a front-mounted fingerprint scanner that supports touch gestures. The other three models have the fingerprint scanners on their backs and have microUSB ports. With USB-C, the G6 has support for 15W TurboPower fast charging.

The G6 also comes with a dual camera setup that’s equipped with 12MP and 5MP sensors. The dual cameras support Motorola’s portrait mode, called Selective Focus. There’s also a feature called Selective Black and White, which allows users to select which parts of an image to colorize, while the rest of the photo is in black and white, according to Neowin.

The Moto G6 Play will be available with black and silver color options.Photo: Motorola

The Moto G6 Play may not have all the fancy features of the G6, but it’s still a pretty solid low to mid-range handset. The G6 Play comes with a 5.7-inch 18:9 aspect ratio display with a screen resolution just above 720p. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 427 with 2GB/3GB of RAM and 16GB/32GB of storage. It also comes with a large 4,000mAh battery. The G6 Play only has a single 12-megapixel camera on its back. The Moto G6 will start at $249, while the Moto G6 Play will start at $199.

Motorola says that it plans on launching all four of its new Android phones in North America this spring. It’s being speculated that the new phones could be available in May or in June.

Motorola announces four new phones under the Moto E and Moto G series.Photo: Motorola